OLR Report 2016-R-0067
summarizes the youthful offender laws in Connecticut. Youthful offender laws provide a special
status in adult court for cases involving minors charged with committing
certain felonies when age 15 through 17.
The laws provide these cases with greater confidentiality than regular
adult cases and give judges different sentencing options (CGS §§ 54-76b, et seq.).
A minor,
someone charged with committing a crime when under age 18, begins his or her
case in juvenile court. If the minor is
charged with committing a felony when age 15 through 17, his or her case may or
must be transferred to adult court depending on the charge. Once in adult court, the court must determine
whether the minor qualifies as a "youthful offender." To qualify, the minor cannot be charged with
certain crimes (such as a class A felony) and cannot have any prior felony
convictions or certain juvenile adjudications.
Even if the minor qualifies, a prosecutor can request, and the court can
order, that a minor's case be moved to the regular adult criminal court docket.
If a minor
is granted youthful offender status, the proceedings are private and conducted
separately from adult criminal court.
Records related to the minor have greater confidentiality and the
records are erased once the minor reaches age 21 if he or she has completed any
required supervision or commitment from the case and has no later felony
convictions. The court also has a
different list of sentencing options than those available in either adult or
juvenile court.
